Movable carriage for mobile vehicles



Jan. 20, 1959 G. E. PERKINS ET AL 2,869,931

MOVABLE CARRIAGE FOR MOBILE VEHICLES Filed Dec. 27, 1954 s Sheets-Sheet 1 llllllillllll lll llllllllll aim fkr/zz'ns 6207 1576 Zl IDaZe G. E. PERKINS ETAL MOVABLE CARRIAGE FOR MOBILE VEHICLES Jan. 20, 1959 Filed Dec.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 w ww.

Jan. 20, 1959 G. E. PERKINS ETAL 2,869,931

MOVABLE CARRIAGE F OR MOBILE VEHICLES I Filed Dec. 27, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 fiznzors: 67622 E Zerkz'w fi'eorye Zl/LDa Z e United Sttes Patent 2,869,931 O B A RIAG OR M E L E L Glen E. ran]... and George W. Dale, Rock Island, Ill. lication mas 2 7, 1954, Serial No. 477,798 4 Claims. 01. 305-4 This invention relates to improvements in movable supports'formachines;particularly road machines, that is, machines employed inthe'preparing of road sites and the makingof roads. v

In many operations and particularly in road building operations it is frequently desirable that the road machines move over the 'situs of the road while not responding'to small undulations of the surface o'verwhich the machine moves. For instance, in leveling and'finishing a road surface it is desirable that" the smoothing and leveling elements carried" by themachine be maintained at a relativelyfixed' elevation so that'as the machine traverses the road and the leveling and finishing operation proceeds a relatively smooth substantially planar surface will result having'no undulations, crests or troughs or other relatively abrupt changes in surface contour. Yet, unless rails or tracks are laid adjacent the roa'd'site upon which the machine may travel, the surface of the road foundation, being normally rough, may cause the machine to respond to such undulations, crests or troughs and such irregularities will normally be reflected in the surface of the finished pavement.

Accordingly, it has heretofore been proposed to mount road'leveling and finishing devices upon relatively elongated runners-which will slide over the road situs and bridge such undulationsor irregularities. Such runner supported devices are difficult to control and require considerable power for their movement. In some cases the runners are'carried in a more or less floating relationship to wheel-supported devices to secure better control, but the resulting structures are complicated and expensive.

The present invention contemplates a supporting structure for such machines which is so contrived that it can be readily moved and controlled. Briefly described, the supporting structure of'the present invention comprises a pair'of parallel spaced, elongated rigid beams which are rigidly joined by suitable frame members which constitute "the body of the machine and carry the various operating elements, such as, scrapers, screeds, etc. Mounted upon the spaced parallel beams for relative movement along the length thereof and in endless fashion over the ends of 'saidbeams are movable tracks upon" the lower passes of which the beams and frame structure of the vehicle are supported.

One ofthe features of the present invention, resides in the beam and track construction of the device whereby the track atits lower pass'is guided by and backed up by the elongated, rigid beam, that is, the track is not carried in a floating manneras is common in the use of movable endless tracks. "By virtue of this construction the vehicle can be moved over irregular terrain and the carried portions thereof will not respond to undulations, crests and troughs encountered in the path of travel since the elongated beams will tend to bridge them. In addition, the endless tracks facilitate the moving of the vehic'le which may be drawn by a, separate tractive device or the vehicle may carry its own power supply for driving the tracks to furnish motive power for the vehicle.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and following detailed description.

In the drawings,

Fig; 1.is a top plan view of a vehicle, shown only in structural form, supported by track-carrying beams.

' Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the vehicle shown in Fig. 1. i i

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed sectional view showing the forward end sprocket forthe track.

Fig.4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the rear end sprocket.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 5-5 OfFig'l Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 4.

Referringin detail tothe drawings, 1 indicates generally a vehicle which is carried by movable supports 2 embodying the concept of the present invention. The vehicle 1 may be employed for substantially any purpose but'will probablyfindits most extensive use in conjunction with the buildingof roads; If the vehicle 1 is employed as a road machine, the vehicle may carry mixing elements,

scraping'elements, leveling eljements,'v ibrating elements, finishing elements or the like (-not'sliown). The advantages of the present invention reside in a vehicle support which maybe moved over relative irregular terrain, such as a road site"or'the like, whereby although the surface over whichthe vehicle moves may "contain crests, troughs, undulations or'the like, the nature-of the movable supports for the vehicle is such that movement 'of the vehicle will not respond vertically to the irregularities over which the vehicle travels or 'a'tle'aStthe vertical movement of the vehicle will not be as pronounced as the undulations over which it travels.

In use, the vehicle may be drawn by a tractor which may be hitched thereto or' the vehicle may carry its own power supply such asan engine or'the like (not shown) which may be associated with the movable tracks of the vehicle in such fashion as to make the vehicle self propelling. Asan example of the latter form of vehicle our copen'ding application- Serial' No. 462,309, filed October 14, 1954, may serve as an example;

The supports'2 for the vehicle may comprise a pair of spaced beams 3 which are relatively elongated and which are substantially rigid throughout their length. The beams 3 may convenientlytake the form of an H beam having beam is so disposed that the web 5 is positioned horizontally. A plate 6 may be secured to the upper edges of the opposite'flanges'4, asb'y welding or the like 7, whereby the upper portion ofthe 'beam' is of substantially box section.

"Transverse frame members 8 may be secured to the opposite beams 8 and-"brace members 9 function as a frame for supporting the"actuating elements which characterize 'the'vehicle; n'r the drawi'ngs',"only the frame members are illustrated butit is to be understood that said frame members may carry various implements, niachines, enginesf'or the like; i I

A movable track, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, may be carried 'by 'each of the beams 3. At

the forward end of each of the beams a sprocket wheeli 11 journaled upon shaft li nfay be carried and at'the rear end portion or the"be'ains sprocket wheels 13 jour naled upon shafts 1'4 may"be"carried. 'As w'ill be'hereinafter more fully described, each track It} is trained around a sprocket wheel 1 1" and a sprocket wheel 13,

Patented Jan. 20, 1959 pair of rollers 20, 26 are journaled upon each pin 19 and at the lower passes of the tracks each beam 3 rests upon the rollers of the track associated with the respective beam, the rails 16 being respectively in contact with the rollers. Each of the rollers 20 carries a flange 21 Which makes lateral contact with an adjacent rail 16 whereby the rollers and rails maintain their lateral alignment. Tread plates 22 are secured to the link plates 18 and are substantially coextensive in length with said link plates, the tread plates, at the lower passes of the tracks 10, making contact with the supporting surface over which the vehicle travels.

Each of the sprocket wheels 11 and 13 are provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced arcuate openings 23 in which the pins 19 engage as the track passes around the respective sprocket wheels. If the vehicle is to be drawn by a separate tractive device such as a tractor or the like, the sprocket wheels 11 and 13 merely function as idlers. However, if the vehicle carries its own power supply, it is preferable to connect said power supply to the rear sprocket wheels 13 in which case said sprocket wheels function as driving wheels for the tracks.

The tracks 10 at their upper pass may be supported by rails 24, rolls 20 rolling upon the rails 24 at the upper pass of the track. The rails 24 may be supported by the frame structure, one rail being carried at each side of the vehicle.

One of the important features of the present invention resides in the fact that the tracks 10 at their lower pass are supported throughout said lower passes by the rigid, elongated beams 3. The beams 3 may be of any length desired but in most uses said beams may be in the neighborhood of twenty feet in length or longer. It can readily be appreciated that the length of the lower passes can be made such that the tracks will bridge undulations of the dimensions normally encountered in road building operations and consequently the beams will not respond in vertical movement to said undulations. Yet, unlike runners which have heretofore been employed which slide over the surface, the movement of the beams 3 is in effect equivalent to a rolling movement since the beams slide over the rollers 20, the sliding movement being accommodated by the endless movement of the track around the sprocket wheels. Hence, the power necessary to move the vehicle forwardly is much less than is normally required where the vehicle moves upon elongated runners which slide upon the ground. In addition, directing the movement of the vehicle is facilitated. Where runners have heretofore been used which slide over the surface of the ground, great ditficulty has been encountered in changing the directional movement of the vehicle. With the construction of the present invention such changes in directional movement may be accomplished most conveniently.

In the event that the vehicle carries its own power supply, the direction of movement of the vehicle can be changed quite readily by driving one track at a greater rate of speed than the opposite track or by maintaining one track stationary while driving the opposite track.

As described in our copending application hereinbefore identified, the inner side walls of flanges 4 of the beams 3 may also be employed as movable forms for the molding and retaining of the edges of the concrete roadway. To use the beams 3 for this purpose, the inner flange 4 of the beam is preferably extended downwardly a, greater '4 distance than the outer flange thereof which would prevent the concrete from moving beneath the beam and fouling the tread plates.

In addition, where the vehicle is used as contemplated in our copending application an additional economy in the road construction is effected. In devices heretofore proposed for road construction wherein the road making machine carries its own forms, the propelling mechanism is usually positioned laterally outside the forms and the slip forms are carried between the propelling tracks or wheels. This requires that in initially cutting the road site a sufficient width on each outer side of the forms must be provided and preliminarily leveled. This adds in the neighborhood of three or four feet to each side of actual road site which must be processed for the support of the propelling wheels or tracks. Where the road site passes through constricted territory such as through hilly terrain, expensive cuts or fills must be made to provide support for the propelling wheels or tracks.

In the present invention the only width added to the actual road site which must be processed is that corresponding to the width of the beams 3, a matter of inches on each side of the road site compared to three or four feet or more on each side of the actual road for devices heretofore proposed.

As has been hereinbefore described, the present invention is ideally adapted for supporting road making machines. However, it is to be understood that the present invention is not to be limited specifically to this class of vehicle since the advantages thereof may be employed in other types of vehicles adapted for other types of work.

We claim:

l. A mobile vehicle comprising a vehicle frame, a pair of relatively elongated rigid beams carried by said vehicle frame upon opposite sides thereof, said beams being of greater length than the vehicle frame and extending forwardly and rearwardly beyond said vehicle frame, said beams being in spaced parallel relationship to each other, an endless articulate track movably carried by each beam, each track having an upper and lower pass above and below the beam over which it moves, said beams resting upon the lower passes of the respective passes.

2. A mobile vehicle comprising a vehicle frame having front and rear ends, a single pair of relatively elongated rigid beams rigidly secured to said vehicle frame, said beams having relatively straight lower sides and each of said beams being of greater length than the vehicle frame and extending forwardly and rearwardly beyond the front and rear ends of said vehicle frame, said beams being in spaced parallel relationship to each other, an endless articulate track movably carried by each beam, each track having an upper and lower pass above and below the beam over which it moves, said beams resting on the lower passes of said respective passes.

3. A mobile vehicle comprising a vehicle frame having front and rear ends, a single pair of relatively elongately elongated rigid beams rigidly secured to said vehicle frame, said beams having relatively straight lower sides and each of said beams being of greater length than the vehicle frame and extending forwardly and rearwardly beyond the front and rear ends of said vehicle frame, said beams being in spaced parallel relationship to each other, an endless articulate track movably carried by each beam, each track having an upper and lower pass above and below the beam over which it moves, rollers interposed between the lower pass of said tracks and the respective beams upon which said respective beams rest.

4. A mobile vehicle for operating on a road wherein the vehicle may be moved lengthwise along said road, comprising a vehicle frame, a single pair of relatively elongated rigid beams immovably carried by said vehicle frame, said beams being in spaced parallel rela- 5 tionship to each other and being adapted to be disposed along opposite defining edges of a road, the bottom side of each of said beams being substantially straight throughout its length and each beam extending beyond the forward and rear ends of said vehicle frame, an endless articulated track carried by each beam and having an upper and lower pass above and below the respective beam, tread plates carried upon each track which at the lower pass of the track make contact with the ground, rollers interposed between the lower pass of said tread plates and the lower straight side of each beam whereby said beams move forwardly on said tracks, and a flange substantialy coextensive in length with each beam upon the lateral inner side of each beam, said flanges being relatively flat and smooth and extending downwardly to a position at least flush with the lower faces of the tread plates when said tread plates rest upon the ground to define and to trowel the outer lateral edges of the road and to protect the rollers and articulated portions of the tracks from the flow of road material abutted by said flanges.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 266,924 Tilton Oct. 31, 1882 871,623 Phillips Nov. 19, 1907 1,003,025 Baker Sept. 12, 1911 

